Blacktail Deer Plateau One Last Try

the man gave a simple explanation, and he nodded, though still very much on the defensive. if this were a decoy for another to slip over the border. . .  adi kept his eyes alert, looking for trouble to his left and right, while still giving the dark-pelted male the attention he deserved.

"i see," he said shortly, listening for pema's familiar pawsteps. the woman--moonshadow--had drifted off to sleep, her body weakened by the injury. he couldn't help but empathize with the pair. not so long ago, he himself had been brought to the borders injured, looking for a home. grayday had taken him in without hesitation.

but that was when morningside's ranks were not so full as they were now. the plateau and its deer herd simply couldn't sustain more wolves than what they had, especially with grayday and catori now an item and pups surely on the way. he hated to turn them away. . .but it might be his only option.

"we can try to nurse your sister back to better health," he told nightstar. "but as for joining, our ranks are full. once pema provides aid, we cannot allow you to stay. i'm sorry." his voice was suffused with the sorrow he felt at not being able to do more.